scholarly journals Loss of WTAP Impairs Early Parthenogenetic Embryo Development

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1675
Author(s):  
Jindong Hao ◽  
Siyi Huang ◽  
Dongxu Wang ◽  
Yongxun Jin ◽  
Mingjun Zhang ◽  
...  

m6A is one of the most common and abundant modifications of RNA molecules present in eukaryotes. The methyltransferase complex, consisting of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), METTL14, and WTAP, is responsible for the m6A modification of RNA. WTAP was identified as an mRNA splicing regulator. Its role as a regulatory subunit of the m6A methyltransferase complex in embryonic development remains largely unknown. To investigate the role of WTAP in porcine early embryonic development, si-WTAP was microinjected into porcine parthenogenetic zygotes. WTAP knockdown significantly reduced the blastocyst rate and global m6A levels, but did not affect the cleavage rate. Betaine was supplemented into the in vitro culture (IVC) to increase the m6A levels. Betaine significantly increased the global m6A levels but did not affect the blastocyst rate. Furthermore, the pluripotency genes, including OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG, were downregulated following WTAP knockdown. The apoptotic genes BAX and CASPASE 3 were upregulated, while the anti-apoptotic gene BCL2 was downregulated in WTAP knockdown blastocysts. TUNEL staining revealed that the number of apoptotic cells was significantly increased following WTAP knockdown. Our study indicated that WTAP has an indispensable role in porcine early embryonic development.

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Erickson ◽  
Tom Kroetsch ◽  
Muhammad Anzar

The objectives of this study were to confirm the relationship of apoptosis-associated membrane and nuclear changes in bull spermatozoa with field fertility, to predict the fertility of beef bulls used for natural breeding and to study the role of DNA-nicked spermatozoa in early embryonic development. In Experiment 1, the relationship between fertility and different sperm populations identified by the Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays was determined. Bull fertility was related to live (P < 0.05) and necrotic (P < 0.01) and DNA-nicked (P < 0.001) spermatozoa. In Experiment 2, the percentage of DNA-nicked spermatozoa was determined in 15 beef bulls used for natural breeding and their fertility potential was determined using a regression model developed in Experiment 1.The predicted fertility deviation of beef bulls ranged from –7.3 to 2.4. In Experiment 3, the effect of DNA-nicked spermatozoa on in vitro cleavage and blastocyst rates was evaluated, using 30 000 or 300 000 spermatozoa per droplet. Cleavage rate was adversely affected (P < 0.05) by DNA-nicked spermatozoa, regardless of sperm concentration. Blastocyst rate was lower (P < 0.05) in high DNA-nicked spermatozoa at the lower sperm concentration. In conclusion, the incidence of DNA-nicked spermatozoa is a useful marker to predict a bull’s fertility potential. DNA-nicked spermatozoa showed adverse effects on early embryonic development.


2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
K. B. Lee ◽  
A. Bettegowda ◽  
J. J. Ireland ◽  
G. W. Smith

We have previously demonstrated a positive association of follistatin mRNA abundance with bovine oocyte competence. Furthermore, exogenous follistatin supplementation during the early stages of in vitro bovine embryo development (before embryonic genome activation) can reduce time to first cleavage, increase proportion of embryos developing to the blastocyst stage, and increase trophectoderm cell numbers, suggesting a potential role for follistatin in bovine early embryonic development. However, the requirement of endogenous follistatin for early embryogenesis in cattle has not been directly tested. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the requirement of follistatin for early embryonic development using small interfering RNA (siRNA)- based knockdown procedures. Small interfering RNA corresponding to exons 2 (siRNA 2) and 3 (siRNA 3) of the bovine follistatin gene were synthesized, and the optimal dose of each siRNA resulting in maximal reduction in follistatin mRNA (at the 4-cell stage) following microinjection into presumptive zygotes was determined. Injection of follistatin siRNA 2 or siRNA 3 resulted in a >80% decrease in follistatin mRNA abundance in 4-cell embryos, but mRNA abundance for 5 housekeeping genes and the oocyte-specific gene JY-1 was not affected. Effects of follistatin siRNA injection on follistatin protein abundance were evaluated by immunofluorescence staining of 16-cell embryos. Follistatin immunoreactivity was dramatically reduced in siRNA-treated v. uninjected embryos. Upon validation, the effects of follistatin siRNA on early embryonic development were investigated. Cumulus–oocyte complexes were harvested from ovaries obtained from a local abattoir, matured and fertilized in vitro. Sixteen to 18 h following fertilization, denuded presumptive zygotes (25–30 per treatment, n = 4 replicates) were microinjected with (1) follistatin siRNA 2, (2) negative control (nonspecific) siRNA, (3) sham (water), or (4) served as uninjected controls. After injections, embryos were cultured in KSOM medium supplemented with 0.3% BSA. Proportions of embryos reaching the 2-cell stage within 30 h (early cleaving), 30–36 h (late cleaving), and within 48 h post-fertilization (total cleavage rate) were recorded. Number of embryos reaching the 8–16-cell stage was recorded 72 h after fertilization, and embryos were cultured in fresh KSOM medium supplemented with 0.3% BSA and 10% fetal bovine serum until day 7. Injection of follistatin siRNA 2 did not affect proportion of early and late cleaving embryos (21 v. 19% and 41 v. 37%) and total cleavage rate (80 v. 81%). However, injection of follistatin siRNA 2 decreased the proportion of embryos reaching the 8–16-cell stage (41 v. 59%) and percentage blastocyst development (12 v. 27%, P < 0.05). Experiments were repeated, and effects of follistatin siRNA 3 determined (25–30 embryos per treatment, n = 4 replicates). Similar results were obtained as for follistatin siRNA 2 injection. Results support a requirement of endogenous follistatin for bovine early embryogenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 310-310
Author(s):  
Saulo Menegatti Zoca ◽  
Julie Walker ◽  
Taylor Andrews ◽  
Adalaide C Kline ◽  
Jerica J Rich ◽  
...  

Abstract Sire conception rate (SCR) is a field measure of fertility among bulls, but it can be influenced by several factors (Sperm transport, sperm-egg binding, early embryo development, etc). The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between SCR, sperm motility, SERPINA5 concentrations, and in vitro embryo development. Measurements were performed in 19 bulls with SCR values ranging from -7.7 to 4.45. For each bull, an aliquot of frozen-thawed semen was used for analyses of total (TMOT) and progressive (PROG) motility. Remaining semen was fixed with 2% formaldehyde, and concentration of SERPINA5 was determined by immunolocalization (antibody SERPINA5/Dylight405; PA5-79976-Invitrogen / ab201798-Abcam). Mean fluorescence intensity was determined in ~200 sperm heads/bull. Approximately 149 oocytes/bull were fertilized in vitro for embryo development analysis (cleavage and blastocyst rates). Statistical procedures were performed in SAS (9.4) using the procedures CORR for correlations (SCR, TMOT, PROG, SERPINA5, cleavage and blastocyst) and GLIMMIX for comparison of “field-fertility” (SCR divided in HIGH or LOW) and “field-embryo-fertility” (LOW-SCR sires were divided based on blastocyst rate (HIGH or LOW) resulting in two classifications; LOW-HIGH≥31% and LOW-LOW≤26%, respectively). There were positive correlations (P &lt; 0.05) between cleavage-blastocyst (r=0.50), SERPINA5-cleavage (r=0.48), and TMOT-PROG (r=0.76). Sire SCR was not associated with SERPINA5, TMOT, PROG, cleavage and blastocyst rate (P &gt; 0.52). Among LOW-SCR sires, LOW-LOW sires (-4.83±0.60) tended to have a better SCR score than LOW-HIGH (-6.18±0.42) sires (P = 0.08), but there were no differences (P &gt; 0.43) between LOW-HIGH, LOW-LOW, and HIGH sires for SERPINA5, TMOT, PROG, and cleavage. In conclusion, some LOW SCR sires have good embryo development indicating a different mechanism for their low SCR; however, these differences in SCR could not be explained by TMOT, PROG, SERPINA5, cleavage and blastocyst. There were, however, positive correlations between cleavage-blastocyst rate, and SERPINA5-cleavage rate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Gao ◽  
Xianfeng Yu ◽  
Jindong Hao ◽  
Ling Wang ◽  
Minghui Qi ◽  
...  

Abstract The TET (Ten-Eleven Translocation) proteins catalyze the oxidation of 5mC (5-methylcytosine) to 5hmC (5-hydroxymethylcytosine) and play crucial roles in embryonic development. Ascorbic acid (Vc, Vitamin C) stimulates the expression of TET proteins, whereas DMOG (dimethyloxallyl glycine) inhibits TET expression. To investigate the role of TET1, TET2, and TET3 in PA (parthenogenetic) embryonic development, Vc and DMOG treatments were administered during early embryonic development. The results showed that Vc treatment increased the blastocyst rate (20.73 ± 0.46 compared with 26.57 ± 0.53%). By contrast, DMOG reduced the blastocyst rate (20.73 ± 0.46 compared with 11.18 ± 0.13%) in PA embryos. qRT-PCR (quantitative real-time PCR) and IF (immunofluorescence) staining results revealed that TET1, TET2, and TET3 expressions were significantly lower in PA embryos compared with normal fertilized (Con) embryos. Our results revealed that Vc stimulated the expression of TET proteins in PA embryos. However, treatment with DMOG significantly inhibited the expression of TET proteins. In addition, 5hmC was increased following treatment with Vc and suppressed by DMOG in PA embryos. Taken together, these results indicate that the expression of TET proteins plays crucial roles mediated by 5hmC in PA embryonic development.


1994 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1903-1908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Tournaye ◽  
Marleen Van der Linden ◽  
Etienne Van den Abbeel ◽  
Paul Devroey ◽  
André Van Steirteghem

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. e0227885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natsumi Funeshima ◽  
Nao Tanikawa ◽  
Hikari Yaginuma ◽  
Hiroyuki Watanabe ◽  
Hisataka Iwata ◽  
...  

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